Go green this week

Green Office Week (19 - 23 April 2010) is principally about empowering office workers to take action and introduce or reinforce behaviours that save water and electricity; reduce wastage, buy green; and reduce pollution and the carbon footprint. However, the vision of the week is to have management backing and to get an action plan in place. Professor Mervyn King is the week's goodwill ambassador.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net Credit: djcodrin

Says King, “Today, there is a direct link between a company's performance, its impact on the environment, and society. It's time that companies bring to the attention of all their staff the urgent need to engage in sustainable behaviour. Becoming eco-friendly is neither difficult nor expensive and I look forward to the day when more and more people take care of our planet in their households as well as their workplace.”

Themes

Daily themes for the week to assist office staff in participation:

Tips of the day for	Green Office Week
Monday 19 April	MAKE-IT-HAPPEN MONDAY
Tip of the day	Start by saving paper - make notepads from scrap photocopying and printing paper.
Tuesday 20 April	CHOOSY TUESDAY
Tip of the day	Choose eco-friendly suppliers
	Buy office products that are
	Reusable, (eg packaging)
	Refillable, (eg pens and pencils)
	Non-toxic (eg cleaning products)
Wednesday 21 April	WATTAGE WEDNESDAY
Tip of the day	Be energy conscious!
	Invest in an energy-saving computer, monitor and printer
	Switch to energy-saving settings
	Power-off your computer whenever you're not using it
	Set it to sleep mode when you are away for short periods
Thursday 22 April	THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY
Tip of the day	Thoughtful meetings
	Circulate Agendas and Minutes by email
	Instead of A3 flipcharts, use whiteboards or computer-derived presentations
Friday 23 April	FRIENDLY FRIDAY
Tip of the day	Be a waste-buster - donate unwanted or reusable supplies to schools or charitable organisations

Remember 22 April every year is Earth Day, celebrated worldwide. In 2010 it's Earth Day's 40th anniversary.

Organisers of the week, Dictum Publishers, have posted information in terms of “why, what and how” on the website www.greenofficeweek.co.za and supporters can follow on Twitter at GOW_SA. More information is available on the Eskom website www.eskom.co.za/dsm.